To send my children to school in the last week of term?

[ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs]

Here in Scotland it is the last week of summer term. According to both my dds (14 and 13) NO ONE goes to school in the last week, and definitely not in the last couple of days! They know they will both be sent in anyway, but are moaning that it's really boring, they don't do any work as the teachers can't teach anything because they would just have to teach it again when the rest of the class was there. Apparently they are told to "play on your phones", and some teachers are actively hinting/ suggesting they don't come in!

I'm a bit pissed off with this. On one hand the school officially disapproves of parents taking children out during term time to get cheap holidays, on the other hand the children who do make the effort to go in are seen as an inconvenience, it would seem. There is no penalty for not going in. Dd2 is home upset because her lovely friends are all staying off the last two days and going to a theme park, despite knowing that dd won't be able to join them, and will be in school on her own. (This isn't just hearsay, they did this at the end of last term too) So I am the worst mother in the world for making them go to school. Am i?

Your DC'S sound quite something.

We have activities week here (also Scotland), trips / camps/ school based activities- all pupils must sign up to activities and must attend but no actual school work done.

Your kids are right (if it's anything like when I went). My parents didn't make me go but I thought it was a bit of a laugh as a few of my friends would go and we could do what we wanted really.
It's really the schools fault tbh.
There were always some kids that were there because they were paid to be (over 16 and parents on low incomes). Not sure if that still happens.

Not sure how it's the school's fault. If a teacher has a class of three or four (quite common at this stage) how on earth can they be expected to teach a 'proper' lesson?

In my experience the teachers actively discourage pupils from coming in. Often class teachers are away on trips etc. There's nothing of substance even planned for the week.

My school stops tomorrow at 1pm! Last week all classes working as usual, today lots of trips and activities. Tomorrow it's whole school quiz, staff v pupils football/ netball and karaoke- it's a great laugh.
My DC all stop at same time- same at their schools: Last day and a half lots of activities ( Inc awards ceremony tonight!) but whole of last week working as usual.

Who is Scotland different on the holiday front?

And why don't they have to go in? Do they not issue fines there?

@LiteraryDevil1 do you mean why is Scotland different? We have a completely different education system.

Check with the school. I'm in England, so 4 weeks left, but we teach till the end. No films here! And certainly no playing on phones. It'll be some stand-alone skills lessons for years 7-9 and full Great Expectations content lessons for year 10.

@kaytee87 yes, that's what I meant. Why is it so different? I'm intrigued not being arsey.

There's nothing of substance even planned for the week.

Not just the last week either. At my son's school, it's more like the last month. I could just about understand it in the early years, but even in year 10, when the teachers knew they had the same classes in September, whingeing about lack of time and too much to teach, and they could have done some quality lessons, it was all watching videos, cover/supply teachers with no work being set, "play on your phone" etc. Not just the say so of my son either - they have the show my homework app, and it was tumbleweed from mid June onwards - not a single item of homework set.

Its always been different. Totaly separate education system.

No idea why some teachers allow kids to faff about, given that it's MUCH harder to maintain order and the hours drag if you do this. I'm used to teaching properly right until the last bell.

@LiteraryDevil1 a lot of things in Scotland are different, the legal system for instance. Licensing laws are different. Too many things to name really.

Summer holidays up here are the same as they’ve always been - finish end of June and go back mid August. No fines as far as I know, but I’ve never taken mine out in term time.

They don’t issue fines in my LA for absence. The holidays are staggered to allow for holidays being booked, so that it’s not everybody all at once.

I don't think Scottish councils fine like England do

Mine usually go but this year I am letting dd stay off the last day and I have told her if she can come up with a productive plan of things to do at home then she can stay off the weds too. They arent doing proper classes as more than half are absent. We are in scotland too.

I don't think there are fines in Scotland. Kudos to all the teachers in here who organise work or even fun activities for the last week, wish it was the same at our school. At primary level we didn't have this issue at all, although you would think losing a week of teaching would be more of an issue in exam years (dd1 just gone into 4th year)

perfectly normal. In the 90's we sat doing not a lot classes would be near empty. I remember our chemistry teacher playing hangman with us on the blackboard.In other classes we were given word searches. The same word searches usually handed out in detention.

In primary they let you take toys or a game in but its not really worth going in the last few days of secondary.

Teacher, in Scotland. Very difficult to do anything meaningful in last week when over 50% of kids don't come in. You can't continue courses as with some classes you are literally down to a couple of pupils.

We run various whole school activities/events to encourage people in but it doesn't prevent high absence rate.

Becomes a bit catch 22. Teachers struggle to do meaningful things because so few come in. Then kids don't want to come in because nothing meaningful is happening.

Mine are definitely going to school.

Not a discussion that's ever going to be happening in this house. It's a school day, you go to school.

Ours are still in primary, so will be there every day until Thursday when they finish. However, when I was at secondary, NO-ONE went in for the last week. Also, you don't get fined for taking kids out for holidays (North Lanarkshire).

@PolaDeVeboise I’m NL too!